Eintracht Frankfurt has reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League. After the 2-1 win in the first leg, Oliver Glasner’s team was able to draw 1-1 after extra time in the second leg.
After a thriller, the Europa League experts from Eintracht Frankfurt can look forward to more magical nights in their favorite competition. With the excellent starting position from the first leg behind them, a 1-1 draw against Betis Sevilla in the round of 16 second leg after extra time at their own stadium was enough for the Hessians to advance to the quarter-finals. Martin Hinteregger (120’+1′) scored the redeeming goal, Borja Iglesias (90′) saved the guests into extra time.
That’s how the game went
After the 2-1 win in Seville, Eintracht trembled into the next round, and there was no big European party on the field. As with their impressive trip in 2019, the SBU is again among the top eight teams – and can continue to dream of the big coup. The quarter-finals will be drawn on Friday (1.30 p.m.).
After the strong performance in Seville’s cauldron, the euphoria had grown. “We will definitely play to win,” said coach Oliver Glasner. In return, he sent the same starting XI onto the field for the fourth time in a row in front of the atmospheric backdrop.
The Frankfurters had hoped for a full stadium, but did not receive any special permission from the authorities. And so “only” 25,000 fans saw both teams briefly scanned before Ansgar Knauff (14th) ended Eintracht’s reluctance with a crossbar hit. This was followed by an unplaced finish from Djibril Sow (19th).
The Hessians controlled the events like in the first leg victory, which could have been better. In their efforts, however, the SBU kept getting stuck in the Betis defense with ex-Dortmunder Marc Bartra. The Andalusians, coached by the experienced Manuel Pellegrini, rarely posed a threat on the counterattack.
But Eintracht came out of the cabin as if changed. Suddenly the hitherto stable defense wobbled, almost nothing went offensively – and the fifth in the Spanish league increased the pressure. Only after a good hour did Frankfurt free itself again.
It was still exciting. A free kick by Filip Kostic (64′) sailed past the post, on the other side Kevin Trapp saved against Juanmi (65′). In the final phase, the Hessians came under even more pressure and had to worry about progress: goal scorer Iglesias hit the crossbar in extra time (109th).